There’s at least a reasonable probability that you’ve spent time basking on the beaches of Cancun, Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, or one of Mexico’s other glorious getaways. Nevertheless, despite the country’s proximity to the U.S., I’m willing to wager that, even if you’re a longtime energy aficionado, you’re less familiar with its oil and gas scene than you may be with those of some more distant Latin American locations, such as Brazil or Venezuela.

Mexico clearly has vast reserves of oil and gas. Indeed, its northern shale fields just might contain reserves amounting to nearly 700 million cubic feet of gas, making the country potentially the world’s fourth-largest supplier of hydrocarbon, behind only China, the U.S., and Argentina. As for crude oil, the country’s production has been sliding steadily, from an average output of 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2006 to 2.54 million bpd in 2011. However, our neighbor to the south is outranked only by the country to our north as a supplier of crude to the U.S.